Basketball's Vitale has passion for tennis

Monday

Oct 14, 2013 at 10:00 PM

Mic Huber

Almost every sports fan is aware of the passion Dick Vitale has for college basketball. In a phrase: It's awesome, baby.

Fewer fans realize that tennis has been a big part of Vitale's life as well. Not only does Vitale like to play the game, but tennis is the sport that brought his family to the Sarasota-Bradenton area so that his two daughters could train at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy before going on to play for Notre Dame.

Vitale's passion for the game also pushed him to become involved in the college tennis tournament held near his Lakewood Ranch home.

The tournament, in its fourth year, is now called the Dick Vitale Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic. It is scheduled to be held Nov. 8-10 at the Athletic Center at Lakewood Ranch and Vitale can hardly hold his excitement.

“It is going to be a great event,” Vitale says. “It is going to be an exciting time for a lot of people who love tennis to see some real quality college kids play.”

Adding to Vitale's passion is the opportunity to raise some money for cancer research. He is helping to solicit people to buy banners that will hang at the facility for four months.

“Every dollar from those banners will go to the V Foundation, which you know I am obsessed with,” Vitale said. A certain dollar amount above the base price to purchase banner sponsorship will enable the donor an opportunity to attend a party Vitale will host at his home for players and coaches of teams participating in the event.

Among the guests at the Vitale party will be Nick Bollettieri, who will give a talk about tennis and the game of life.

The tennis calendar is bursting the first week in November with three events at three different facilities.• The second Annual “Battle of the Club Champions — Mixed Doubles” will be held Nov. 2-3 at The Meadows Country Club. Jay Engstrom and Linda Pellitier from The Meadows are back, in an attempt to defend the title they won in 2012, against seven challengers. Teams from Laurel Oak, River Strand, Lakewood Ranch, Serendipity, Jacaranda, Courtside, Longwood Run will challenge The Meadows team.The public is welcomed to watch all the action at no charge.

• That same weekend, a wild card tournament is planned for Nov. 2-4 at IMG Academy in Bradenton. The wild card event is a run-up to the IMG Academy $10K Futures tournament, a men's USTA Pro Circuit Event. The winner of the tournament receives a wild card into the 10K tournament to be played Nov. 12-17 at IMG. The runner-up at the wild card tournament earns a spot into the qualifying tournament (Nov. 8-12) for the right to play in the $10K event. Deadline to enter the wild card tournament is Oct. 30 at 11:59 p.m. The main draw entry deadline is Oct. 24. Call IMG at (941) 752-1000 for more information.

• A third tournament the same weekend will be the Brandi's Wish Doubles Tournament. Now in its third year, the tournament will be played Nov. 2-3 at the Sarasota Bath and Racquet Club. There are various ability levels for men and women in doubles events. Entry fee is $50 for first doubles event and $25 for additional doubles. Entries close Oct. 30 at 11:59. Proceeds from the doubles event go to Brandi's Wish Foundation, which raises awareness of the battle against the disease of addiction. Contact the Bath & Racquet Club for more information.

• A little further out on the horizon is the first Totally Tennis One by One Exhibition Series to benefit Meals on Wheels of Sarasota. The first event of the series is The Suncoast Tennis League Challenges to be played Nov. 10, starting at 11 a.m. at the Payne Park Tennis Center courts. Challenging in the 50-over division will be the El Con Crimson team of Brad Spotts and Herb Pattison vs. the Payne Park Crimson team of Jeff Bond and Mark Bales, Scott Christie and Don LaGasse of the Bath and Racquet Blue will take on Steve Jonson and Larry Stark of El Con Red in the 60s division. The 70s division will feature tennis Hall of Famer Mike Davies and world champion Joe Bachmann representing the Bath and Racquet Gray against the Longboat Key Public White team of Steve Thompson and Jay Greenblatt. Contact Bob Luxembourg at (941) 371-0162 for more information.

• The month of November winds up with the prestigious Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Tournament at the IMG Academy, with qualifying to be played Nov. 28-Dec. 1 and main draw matches to be played Dec. 2-8. The tournament features top players from around the world in 18-Under through 12-Under age divisions. Past winners include Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, Xavier Malisse, Jelena Jankovic and Anna Kournikova. Contact IMG Academies for more information.